Dante's Divine Comedy
by Parfois Marguerite
Summary: Edward Elric has never met the host of tonight's dinner party. In fact the only thing he truly knows about them is that they are offering key information regarding the disappearance of his father. He would have never have come here with his fiancé otherwise. Though the night quickly turns for the worst causing Edward to realize that some things are better left buried and forgotten.


If Edward had been honest with his fiancé, he might have asked her to turn around with him and forget why they had come here. Instead Winry, under the impression they would be dinning with people aligned with his sort of work, simply smiled at him as Edward sternly nocked against door before them. It was too late now, he guessed.

The dull tremor of his knock echoed throughout the interior. Almost immediately it was followed by a series of sharp taps. At least someone was close enough to the door to hear them. A light amount of pressure squeezing at his shoulders had Edward flinching at the core.

"Are you okay Ed?" With her voice trailing after the physical contact, he found no reason to be alarmed by the sudden feeling.

"Yeah, of course." He sighed ever so subtly. Maybe planting the idea that he had become tired would be enough to retire from the party early.

He felt her response come and go as the door before them slide open. A crisp, familiar smell wafted outside. It was certainly different than most homes back in the country. Winry moved to his side, letting herself become more visible to the person now standing in front of them.

"Good Evening Mr. Elric," He was only puzzled for a moment as to why this woman recognized his name. If she was his host, a person he had never met before, she wouldn't have been dressed as servant. After letting his eyes drift upwards to her face, Edward realized that he had certainly met this person before.

"Uh Good Evening to you too L—"He awkwardly paused his sentence, recalling the name not spoken by him for at least two years "—Lyra"

Winry's eyes shifted between the two, her lips falling curiously on her face. "You two know each other?"

Lyra nodded, "I used to be acquainted with him through his work." She smiled, "but as you can tell, I'm not anymore."

Edward coughed into his sleeve. "Yeah it's been awhile, hasn't it?" There was a small silence between the three.

"It's quite a small world. Wouldn't you say so, Edward?"

Laughing, unaware of her fiancés strangeness, Winry replied, "I sure would."

Turning on her heel slightly, Lyra gestured with an open palm towards the candle lit foyer behind her. "I'm sure you'll find even more familiar faces amongst the other guests."

Edward hesitated for a moment, pondering those words. "O-oh yeah . . . right." He followed Winry as she moved to pass Lyra in the doorway, standing a few feet away into the house.

"To my knowledge, I'm fairly certain that with your arrival, there's only two more guests that have yet to arrive."

Edward kept his head down as Lyra guided the two of them deeper into the strange mansion. He watched the way her dress, long and pink, bounced against her ankles. At times he could see flashes of white from the tool keeping it in such a puffy shape. Winry however, judging by the little noises that would sometimes pass her lips, told him that she was immersed in the décor.

"So Lyra," he finally found himself saying. "How long have you been working here." When had been the last time he had seen this woman? Was it two, three, five years ago? God he wished he could remember, hell he could barely even remember her name.

"I've been so busy here, it's hard to say." She chuckled, slightly slowing her pace down. "Maybe a little over a month."

. . .

They came to a narrow hallway at some point. Lyra had stopped for a moment at its entrance, causing Edward to look up from the ground. There were a series of small tables with white clothes and candles covering the tops. Each one of them were neatly lined against the walls and appropriately spaced out between each other. The flickering lights shinning against the celling silently enticed the trio to approach the only door at the very end of the passage. It wasn't anything special, just a plain dark oak door, but it was obvious from the dimness around them that there appeared to be a source of brighter light coming from inside.

When Lyra moved forward again, with the couple in toe, Edward kept his eyes looking straight ahead. They weren't even a few feet in when he finally noticed a hint of sound coming from inside. It certainly wasn't anything that loud, as one might expect from a party, but it was sound nonetheless.

"Dinner will be served a little bit later than expected," Edward blinked. "But I'm sure it will hardly be a problem." Little by little, he found himself having a harder time concentrating on the words coming from Lyra. "Besides, it will give you plenty of time to mingle and introduce yourselves to the other guests."

Winry nodded, the small smile from before still gracing her face. Edward, reacting late, also nodded his head; though with no real sign of happiness of frustration about his face. "Thank you, Lyra."

"Your welcome. It's sure been a pleasure seeing you again, Edward." Gosh he couldn't quite figure out why he disliked the way his name rolled off her lips. It wasn't as if something like this had bothered him back before. It must be the foreboding nature of the situation that had him such a mood, he assured himself. Hopefully Winry would not catch onto it as the night progressed.

With a click and a squeak, the door opened slowly and let the brighter lit from within come dancing out. Going from the darkness of the outside world to a dimly lit home made the effect of the light feel rather piercing in his skull. It must not have affected Winry too much for she was already moving ahead of him, entering the room with a jovial attitude and an air of confidence.

Swallowing any feelings he had towards he situation, Edward gave Lyra one last look before entering the room as well. She didn't follow after and instead chose to close the door neatly behind him.

The first thing Edward heard was a snicker, "I had a feeling that you be invited to this party as well, Elric."


End file.
